Ladyfish (30 page)

Finn nodded against her chest before she pulled away and crossed the room, picked up a phone, and punched in the number.

“Charlie, it’s Finn.”

“Are you both okay?”

“Yeah, sort of. We’re both pretty banged up, but everything’s under control.”

“Hang tight. The cavalry is almost with you.”

She hung up the phone and walked back to Oz’s side.

“How long?”

“Just a few minutes.”

“I know you got a lot off your chest before, but this might be the last chance you get to talk to him, so is there anything else you want to ask him?”

“Where is she?”

“Who?”

“My mother.”

“Why?”

She stared at him. “Because she was my mother. She loved me. Because I loved her.”

“The last time I saw your mother, you were twelve years old. She was with her. That bitch she left me for.” Oz snapped to attention even as Finn stared incredulously at him.

“Who?”

“That fucking dyke.”

Finn slapped him across the face. “I take offense to that, Father.”

He stared at her as though she had grown a second head.

“Who was she?”

“Karen Riley.”

“My cook?”

“You remember her do you? Did she interfere with you too?”

“Don’t be disgusting. She and my mum were lovers?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you employ her if you knew who she was?”

“I didn’t. The housekeeper did all the hiring in those days. She wanted to be close to you. Isn’t that sweet? Little Daniela’s guardian angel. Soon put a stop to that one, though.” The smile on his face made Oz feel dirty.

“What did you do to her?”

He just grinned.

“What did you do?”

“I paid her a little visit, that’s all. After your mother died, so to speak, I thought I’d see what it was that had your mother so interested.” He smiled at her, a lascivious twisting of his lips that didn’t reach his eyes. “I have to admit, your mum had pretty good taste.”

“What did you do to her?” Finn’s voice was barely a whisper.

“Nothing she didn’t want—”

“You raped her.”

“You say tomato.” The smile on his face widened. “But this is where I got the real shock. Guess who was there with your precious Karen? Shacked up together, having a whale of a time.” He paused, staring at her. “No? Really? Your dear old mum. Have to say, that really threw me for a loop. But in a situation like that, you just have to make the best of things. And I’ve got to admit, finding them both there together? Well, two for the price of one you might say.”

“You son of a bitch.” It was all Oz could do to stop herself from striking him.

“You raped my mother.” Finn’s voice quivered.

“She was my wife! She was the one who left. They had no right to come sniffing around again. She should have stayed dead! I told them both that if they ever contacted you again, they wouldn’t be the only ones to regret it.”

“You threatened to rape her again?”

His laughter echoed harshly in her ears. “Daniela, I didn’t need a repeat performance, and neither did they.”

“Then what? You would have killed her?”

“Yes, but there was no need. You see, there was this big old soft spot they both had. An Achilles’ heel if you like.”

Oz had never felt so repulsed. “You sick bastard.”

Finn stared at Oz, her confusion obvious as Oz held the gun closer to his face.

“That just gave me a billion and one.” She pointed the gun at his head. “Where are they both?”

He shrugged and leaned a little closer to the gun.

“Tell me.” He grinned a little more and the realization hit Oz like a ton of bricks.
He wants me to kill him so that he doesn’t go to jail and doesn’t have to face what he’s done.
She leaned into his face. “I know what you want.” She looked him in the eye so he could see the truth of her words. “Tell me what I want to know and I will give you what you want.” She pushed the gun against his temple.

“I don’t know.” He stared at Finn. “I spent years trying to find them again. But every time I thought I had them, they were gone again. If I had found them I would have killed the bitches. I might have been able to use it to turn you into a proper daughter.”

“You’ve been tracking her?” Finn asked.

He nodded.

“Where was she last?”

“I don’t know. I just get updates from the investigators. They send me e-mails.”

“Where’s your computer?”

He stared at her blankly.

“Don’t make me ask again.” He nodded in the direction of the bar.

Finn grabbed the laptop from the cabinet he pointed to and booted the system. “Password?”

He stalled, looking at Oz. She pushed against him with the barrel of the gun.

“Alchemy.”

Finn punched the keys and quickly e-mailed the details to herself. She riffled through the case and found a portable hard drive, which she plugged in. The files transferred quickly and she wrapped the hard drive in a plastic bag she found under the sink before tucking it in the folds of her wet suit sleeve.

“Drop the gun.” Jack’s voice was rough, the traces of his concussion audible around the edges.

Oz felt cold metal press against her temple.

“I said, drop the fucking gun!”

Finn froze as she watched from across the room.

Oz flicked her eyes toward her threatened temple and looked hard at Finn, shaking her head almost imperceptibly.

“I said—”

“Okay, okay.” She pulled the barrel of the gun from Sterling’s temple and held the gun out to the side, a good six inches in front of her, and at the full reach of her arm.

Jack reached for it, but her long arms, coupled with his position behind her, put it well beyond his hand. He stepped around and tried to grab it.

Oz knew the blow to the head would slow him down, and she knew she could spin out of his reach and disable him, despite having only one functioning arm.

But Sterling saw his opportunity and wasted no time. He threw all his might into propelling his body out of the chair at her, landing heavily against her body, his weight taking them both to the ground. The impact of landing on her dislocated shoulder dislodged the gun from her grip and sent it skating across the floor.

Jack scrabbled in the direction of the pistol only to find himself staring down the barrel as it shook in Finn’s hand. He laughed as he pulled himself to his feet.

Oz grunted from the floor, pinned beneath Sterling’s weight. She struggled and twisted, trying to dislodge the body above her.

Jack edged toward Finn. “You can’t use that.” He took a step closer to her. “You haven’t got the balls to pull the trigger.” He stepped closer. “So why don’t you hand it over to me?”

“Get back, Jack.” Her hands were shaking as she pointed the gun at him.

He stopped advancing but didn’t back away.

“Or else what? Hmm, Daniela? Or else what? You going to shoot me? To make Daddy proud?” He laughed cruelly. “He’s never been proud of you. Never fucking wanted you or that whore of a mother of yours. You know he only married her for the money, right?” He took another step closer.

Oz could see the fear and pain on Finn’s face. She knew that she desperately didn’t want to pull the trigger, but she could see something else too. She saw resolve. It was the same look in her eyes that Oz had seen when she said she was going to confront her father to keep Oz safe. Her mouth was set in a grim line and the tiny creases at the corners of her eyes were deeper than normal. Oz knew that her shaking hands didn’t mean she wouldn’t pull the trigger. She was convinced that Finn could, and would, kill him. She wanted to spare her that burden. She pushed at Sterling’s body with her good arm while twisting her hips and torso, trying to get her legs in a position where she could roll him off her.

“I told you to stay back,” Finn repeated.

He was beyond hearing her. “Married the bitch for her fucking money. Now hold still while I fucking kill you. Then I’m gonna kill that fucking bitch over there.”

The shot rang out, echoing through the room. The smell of cordite hung in the air that suddenly felt heavier than the body lying across her. Jack’s steps slowed as he looked down at his chest in surprise. The red flower blossomed outward, but still he stepped forward again.

Finn tried to steady the gun, but her next shot went wild, lodging in the ceiling. The third bullet ripped through his shoulder and threw his balance off.

Jack screamed in rage and pain as he tried to lunge for her.

Finn pulled the trigger again and Oz watched as the fourth bullet drilled through his upper chest. Crimson foam bubbled from between his lips as he attempted to pull in a lungful of air.

“I can’t believe you actually shot me.” He dropped to his knees. “Fuck, that hurts.”

The doors burst open and several armed men flew into the room with their guns poised and ready. Two of them quickly dragged Sterling off Oz and helped her to her feet. Finn was staring at Jack’s body, her eyes locked on the growing pool of blood that surrounded him.

“Finn, babe, can you give me the gun?”

Tears began to fall down her cheeks, the gun shaking wildly in her hand as she stared at the crumpled body lying at her feet.

“Finn? Give me the gun. Baby, you’re okay. We’re both okay, but I need you to give me the gun now.”

Finn held the gun straight out to her, totally oblivious to the fact that she was pointing a loaded weapon at Oz’s chest. Oz quickly clasped her hand over the top, engaged the safety and passed it to the soldier behind her.

“Looks like we got another SEAL in the family, hey?”

Oz turned around, noticing for the first time that it was her cousin standing behind her. She wrapped her arm around Finn, closing her eyes and allowing herself a few moments to revel in the fact that they were both now safe. “Junior, I never thought I’d be so glad to see you.”

“I think I should be offended by that. It’s a damn good thing you were diving with a GPS thing in your wet suit today, cousin. Your crew called the dive center, and Rudy called Charlie. We tracked your transmitter, but they had a damn good lead on us.” He grinned at her, but she could see the concern in his eyes. “Let’s get you out of here.”

“You saved us, baby.” She kissed Finn’s temple and continued to whisper to her, trying to soothe her as she trembled in her arms. “You saved us.” Her relief at having Finn safe was overwhelming; it almost let her forget the price that safety had cost, but not quite. She knew Finn would need time to deal with what she had done to keep them both safe. The burden of taking a life, no matter how justified, was one she knew too well.

The SEALs were milling around the room, checking bodies for signs of life. They pulled Sterling outside and forced him to his knees while they waited for orders.

“Oh for Christ’s sake, Oz! You didn’t leave me anything to do!” Junior threw his hands in the air.

Oz grinned. “Sure I did, Junior. The cleanup is all yours.” She stepped to the side, keeping her arm around Finn’s shoulders, and led her out to the chopper.

Oz sat in the living room at the navy house and wrapped her arm around Finn’s shoulders, placing a tender kiss at her temple, unable to stop smiling. They’d spent two hours in the emergency room before Oz’s mom picked them up.

“How’s your shoulder?”

“It’s fine, baby. Doc just wants me to keep this sling on to rest the ligaments for a few days.”

“When do we have to talk to Charlie?”

“He’ll be here soon. You know you’re going to have to give him that hard drive you copied, don’t you?”

“Yes. I just want to know what my father knew about my mum. And I want to see for myself. I need to.” Finn didn’t know if she could explain why she needed to know the lengths that her mother had gone to remain hidden from him, but she did. She needed to understand what she had gone through. This woman who was both a stranger to her and yet had loved her so completely that she had been willing to give up her life to save her from harm.

“Then we should probably take a look now before he gets here. I’ll grab my laptop.” Oz kissed her head again before she stood and left the room.

Finn closed her eyes and rested her head against the back of the sofa. She wanted to erase the last twelve hours from her head. The gunshot still rang in her ears, the smell of gunfire filled her nostrils, and the metallic scent of blood was so thick she could almost taste it. The bright red stain growing on Jack’s chest as the life seeped from his body, one heartbeat at a time. Her choice. Her decision. Her action. Cause and effect perfectly displayed. One question burned in her mind and she found she couldn’t answer it. Did she regret it? Did she regret taking Jack’s life? Knowing that he would have killed her and Oz if she hadn’t pulled the trigger made it seem clear. Her response was completely logical and understandable. It was self-preservation at its most primitive level. Kill or be killed. Live or die. Intellectually, she accepted it, understood it, and knew that rationally, there was no real choice to make. But she still couldn’t decide if she regretted what she had done.

“Hey, you okay?” Oz put the laptop on the table and squatted in front of her, holding her hands.

Finn shrugged slightly and squeezed Oz’s hand. “Honestly? I really don’t know. I can’t process everything yet.”

“Maybe we should wait to do this.”

“No. Like you said, I need to give that to Charlie when he gets here, and I need to see this. I need to know what happened to her. I want to know where she is, what she went through. I’m angry with her for leaving me. And I need to get past that. The only way I can think of is to find out why she made the decision she did. Why she left me with him.”

“Finn, she didn’t have a choice.”

“How do you know that?”

“Your father told us.”

Finn looked at her, confused.

“He was threatening you. To do to you what he did to them. That was how he kept them away from you. They only stayed away to protect you.”

Finn felt a wave of nausea and dizziness hit her. Her vision swam until she closed her eyes. She felt Oz’s arms wrap around her shoulders, and the sobs started to come, wrenched from the depths of her soul. Her pain was so complete that she didn’t think she would ever be able to escape it.